Process and means for making drawn-wire articles.



L. C. BELZ.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 17. I913.

Patented Sept. 11, 191?.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

PROCESS AND MEANS FOR MAKING DRAWN WIRE ARTICLES.

- mwkww L. C. BELZ.

PROCESS AND MEANS FOR MAKING DRAWN WIRE ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-17.1913.

SHEET 2.

Patented Sept. 11, 1917.

2 SHEETS- R M m m w tours 0. sum, or rnrnnnn'trnm, PEN'NsYLv'aNm.

PROCESS AND MEANS FOR MAKING DRAWN-WIRE ARTICLES.

To all whom it may concern) I Be it known that 1, Louis C. Benz, citizen of the United States, and resident of relative lengths of the. portions of different for reducmg the diameter of. a given tion or section of av wire by wire-drawing diameters may be more or less varied; and

may be utilized for the manufacture of trironged hair pins such as set out inLetters atent No. 1,026,1 l2, granted to me on May 14, 1912, and for other purposes, wheel spokes, for example.

These specially formed wires may be used for many purposes where tension is necessary, as they provide heavy fiends suitable for receiving screw threads or of being upset or riveted, and'they may also be used for tools by proper subdiyision and shaping.

My present application is especially d1- rected to the method. and means employed I as distinguished from'sw'aging or rolling.

and great reductions in diameter.

In carrying out myimprovementa'in the preferred ma'nner,-I provide means for producing a double drawing'. down action upon a given portion of the Wire and a single drawing down action upon adjacent portions thereof, so that there are between the ends of largest diameter. and the middle" portion of smallest diameter, intermediate portions of short length of intermediate diameter thereby avoiding abrupt In carrying out the operation, for producing the last above described form of my invention, I employ two sets of dies, one 'set operating to draw down the wire to'the first diameter of reduction. for a given length and the other set ofdies acting to draw down the greater portion of the reduced section to a smaller or second diameter, said second set'of dies then preferably so manipulated as to continue 'the fdrawing down? of the full diameter to the Specification of Letters Patent. Patented fiept, Application filed Marchli, 1913. Serial No. 755,059.

which a'box 'journa-le'd in the box 7 and rotated by a first diameter'of reduction for a length,

more or less, to, suit the requirements to which the'articIeistO beput.

My invention comprehends method and means which are fully described hereinafter and more specifically defined in the claims;

and these improvements will be betterunderstood by reference "to the drawings, in Which:f.

ure 1' is a side'elevation of a machine suita 1e for carrying out my improved method; Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same with a part of one of the cams broken away;- Fig. '3 is a sectional elevation on a larger scale showing the gri ping'means for pulling the wire'through te dies; Fig. '4 is a sectional plan view on a similar scale showing one form of "the"drawing dies; 7

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the same showing' the fin stripping means; 'Fig. 6 is a plan view of one of the completed wire articles (with portions broken away to shorten it); Fig. 7 is a diagram to illustrate the successive actions of the dies intheir drawlng downoperat1ons.;' Fig. 8 15 an elevatlon of'a modlfied shape of the drawn wire and Fig. 18 is'a viewof oneof the dies;

2 is the main frame of themaehine, and 12 is the power shaft journaled therein and havingsecured to'it' the drivin pulley 13 andlthe cam" wheels .9' and 23 mm which the various movements required. by the machine may bet-derived. 5 is a die carrying frame, and -'is'guided in a guideway 6 on the main frame," so aszto be capable of vertical reciprocation.' This'frame 5 is provided with ahorizontal guideslot 7 in is guided. 7 is a-crank'pin pinion 8, said pinion being intermittently I which may be made by my improved method,

rotated by theteeth 10 and 11 of the cam wheel .9. The pinion 8 has-upon its'iperimeter, at diametrically opposite sides, two

curved parts 8 ,'which work in contact with the smooth perimeter of the cam wheel 9 A to intermittently hold the inion against rotation after each half revo ution induced by the teeth 10 and -'11. This pinion is provided with a 'shaft8, journaled in a hearing 2*, andis the direct means of rotating the crank 7 to raise and lower the frame 5.v 1

The upper part of the frame' 5' has provision for two wire'drawing'dies 3 and' l,

through which the wire. isdrawn by the traveling clamp 15. "Ihi s' clamp. projects downward from a slide 12 guided in a hori- XuIlIzll extension T3 of the frame a. The upper surface of the slide 1; is provided with a rack Ll, which engages the pinion lt and by which it is reeiprocated. The pinion 16 is secured to one end of the shaft 1T which has a pinionlS on its other end. 1!) is a segmental rack, pivoted at 20 to the main frame and at the top engages the pinion 18 to rotate it first in one direction and then in the other. This segmental rack l.) is hinged to one end of a bar 21, carrying at its other end a roller 21, which is operated by a cam groove 22 in the cam wheel 23. This eam groove is so shaped as to impart to the slide 12 and its clamp 15 a reciprocating movement with such dwells as are necessary to suit the requirements,

- but the shape of this cam groove may be varied and would he..wherevarious lengths of drawn wire are required. It will be understood, however, that when the frame is lowered by the crank T, the rack l i is out of engagement with the pinion l6; and at such time the pinion should remain at rest.

The wire clamp may be of any suitable construction, that shown being well adapted to its purpose. As shown, in Figs. 1 and 3, the clamp has a conical socket 26, in which fits a conical bushin 26 having within it the two jaws 2% of the clamp. These jaws are forced toward each other by the balls carried .in slots in'the bushing and rolling against the wall of the conical socket 26. A spring 27 maintains the bushing and jaws in a normal clamping position. A lever 28, pivoted to the clamp frame 1:), acts to move the bushing backward to loosen the clamping jaws and is operated by the cam 29 on the end of thehorizontal frame 13 (Fig. l), the arrangement being such, that when the clamp 15 is moved to the right, in its act of drawing the wire through the dies 3 and 4c. the lever 28 strikes the cam 29 and releases the, wire. This clamp is so made, that when the wire is entered it cannot be pulled out until the levcrQS is moved; it therefore autonniticallv takes hold of the wire adjacent to the dies and liberates it when drawn through the dies to the predetermined length.

\Vhen the wire is drawn down in the manner to be described. the frame 5 lowered to bring the wire into the shears -11 to sever it adjacent to the dies. The shears are composed of pivoted cutters arranged to he moved together by cams on the part 13 of the frame 5,. the said shears being supported upon the stationary main frame 22. In this manner the wire may be cut off in given lengths. Any suitable shears or cuttin off devices may be used.

onsidering now the drawing dies. they are the same-an all material respects except that the dies 3 have a larger opening than the dies 4. Referring to Fig. 4. 3 is a box which is titted nto the die carrying frame 5 and has a longitudinal aperture in which the die plates 31 and 3; lit. Ilhese die plates are held in alinement by the box 3 and by the pin 29 secured to the plate 32 and adjustably fitting plate 31 so as to prevent relative longitudinal movement between the plates while permitting slight lateral movement. .These plates 31 and 32 are provided with the drawing dies proper in) which. when close together, form a hole of the diameter corresponding to which the wire is to be drawn. Set in the box 3 and resting against the die plate 32 is a hard steel block 33 to receive the direct thrust of theadjusting screw 34 and transmit its pressure to the dies. i

The dies 3 are shown in Fig. 4, but dies 4: are the same, only the 'dies proper provide a smaller hole as these dies reduce the wire to its smallest diameter, and no further description of the dies at will he required.

The screws 34 and 34 for respectively operating the dies 3 and i are made with right and left hand threads respectively as indicated in Fig. 1. These screws work in the die carrying frame :5 and each has a crank arm 37 connected by a link so that when one screw is screwed in, the other is screwed out or vice 'versa', whereby the dies3 and t are alternately brought into and 'out of operation to draw down the wire. The screw 34: 1S provlded w th a. long arm v35 by which it may be oscillated and'this arm is connected by link 36 with the lever 37 having a roller 38 which travels in the cam groove 9. This cam groove is so'formed that different de rees of oscillation of the lever 37 may be secured; thus, the cam part 9 causes the, lever 37 to be at its lowest position and with the die 3 under pressure to draw down the wire and'the die 4 open, 'the cam part 9 causes the lever 37 to be raised to its highest position and with the die 3 open an d dic 4 closed under pressure for drawing down the wire, the part 9 holds the lever in its raised position for a given period of the whole cycle of the operation of the machine. cam part 9 lowers the "lever 37 to an intermediate. position with both dies 3 and 4 out of action and this is lllilintfllllfll for a given period of the operation by the part 9 and cam part 9 lowers the lever 37 to its lowermost position to again put the die 3 into operative condition and die out of operative condition. The opening 9" in the cam groove 9 is to enable the roller 38 to pass down out of the groove. when the frame 5 is lowered as before explained to bring the wire down into the cutters 41. i

,T he dies 3 andat may be provided with the stripping blades 39' )rossed together bv springs 40 Figs. 4 ani'l's), to strip from the wire any fin parts which may be formed when the dies bite upon the wire at the beginning of the operations of drawing down the wire.

In Fig. 6 is shown the finished wire. The parts AA are oi the full diameter of the wire and may be of any desired lengths for which the machine may be designed, and the connecting portions BCB are those portions of the wire that have been drawn down or reduced in diameter. The parts BB are reduced by dies 3 and then by the dies 4. The steps in the process for drawing down the metal in these parts B, C, B, are diagrammatically illustrated in Fig. 7. Assuming that the wire is being drawn in the direction of the arrows through the dies 3 and 4, it will be seen that in step (1) the part B has been drawn down by dies 3 for a given length somewhat greater than the distance between the dies 3 and i. When this is accomplished, dies 3 are opened and dies d are closed to reduce part B to the diameter C as indicated in step (2). In this case, the elongation of part B by dies -1- takes place to a great extent and furthermore the reduction begins at a given distance from one part A and terminates at an equal distance from the other part A. When this latter condition is reached, the dies 3 and "h are both brought to an intermediate condition of adjustment, when neither of the dies is operating upon the wire and we have the step shown at step (3). After the wire moves through the dies a given distance to the position shown at step (4), the dies 3 are caused to close upon the wire and dies 4 open. and then we have step (1) repeated. \Vhen step (4) has been reached, the wire is cut off by the-cutters 41 as before explained. The parts 0 are shown in Fig. 7 as broken to indicate that any desired length may be had according to the design of the machine. This is also true of the parts A and B.

While the dies are ordinarily operated to t'orm the parts BB of uniform diameter throughout their lengths, it will be understood that this is only because the. clamp 15 is intermittently pulled along by the action of the ('am "2'!- said cam being provided with dwell portions.

Referring now to the general operation of the machine here described as an example of a suitable apparatus for carrying out ,that the cam wheel 9 rotates in the direction of the arrow, the wire A (indicated by dotted lines) will extend into the draw i clamp 15, and'moreover, as the roller 38 is at its lowermost position in the cam way, the die 3 will be closed up tight upon the wire and the die 4 open, said dies being in the position indicated at (1) Fig. 7. The rotation of the shaft 12 with the cam wheels 9 and 23 will maintain these dies in the condition just mentioned, and will, during this period, oscillate the pivoted rack 19 a given distance which will correspond to the length of the part B of the diagram (1) Fig. 7. When this is accomplished. the cam portion 9 comes into play and raises the roller 38 and unscrews the right-hand screw 3 1 and screws up the left-hand screw 34. with the result that the dies 3 open up and the dies 4 close in tight to produce the reduction of the wire to the smaller diameter C, which, together with the new position of the dies, is indicated in diagram (.2) Fig. 7. Immediately after the dies have assumed these new positions; the rack 19 is moved still farther by the cam groove 22 of cam Wheel 23, and this causes the draw clamp 15 to be moved to the right a farther dis tance equal to the length of the smaller drawn diameter C of said diagram (2) Fig. 7. The relative distance of movement of the draw clamp is so proportioned in respect to the drawn parts of the wire, that there may remain at each end of the smaller drawn section 0 the larger drawn sections BB, and the relative lengths of these parts may be anything desired by properly proportioning the dies to the total diameter of the wire to be drawn and the distance through which the draw clamp is to be moved in any given operation of the dies. As soon as the wire has been drawn to the conditions indicated in the diagram (2) Fig. 7, the dies 1 open and the dies 3 partly close, so that neither of the dies is actually press ing upon the wire. This condition is brought about by the action of the cam portion 9 of the cam wheel 9. When this condition of adjustment of the dies takes place, the dwell portion 9 maintains the dies in this condition of adjustment while the cam 22 of the cam wheel 23 produces a further action of the rack 19 to cause the draw clamp 15 to pull the wire freely between the dies without action, which operation is indicatcd in the diagram (4;) Fig. 7. When this is accomplished, the lever 28 of the draw clamp 15 will be brought into contact with the cam 29 on the end of the draw frame structure 13, and this will open the clamp to permit the wire to b drawn therefrom. \Vhilc the parts are in this condition, the

cam portion 9 of the cam wheel 9 comes into play to lower the roller 38 with the result that the dies 3 are brought. together and the dies 4 are opened wide, as indicated in diagram (1) Fig. 7, (but without the wire being drawn as in said diagram), this being the initial pinching operation upon the wire to start the drawing operationto produce the reduced diameter B- of saiddia' gram Fig. 7, Immediately-upon completing the drawing operations abovedescribed, the further rotation of the cam wheel 9 will bring the open part of the cam slot 0 under the roller 38, .so that the roller 38 may descend therethrough and below the cam wheel 9 when .the gear teeth 10 thereof impart a semi-rotation to the pinion -8.for thepurpose of lowering the die carrying. or draw barfraine .5. :When ,this frame descends, the wire ispassed between-the cutters or shears .41 and-thecimis (t2 thereof operate to cause said-shearsito cut oat-the wire. .Ihe iactionlotthe gear teeth zitl on the cam wheeLQis nexttto .act upon thepinion 8: to give it :a second semi-revolution to again raise-the. die-or. draw frame;.5 to, the position indicated in Fig. :1. {The cam groove &2,0f the cam wheel 23 then acts-to reciprocateithe rack .19 inthe direction the reverse to that of the arrow iniFig. :1.-to.return the draw clamp 15 to a position-to receiVeIthe end ofthewvire projecting from the dies, namely,|to the position indicated in :Fig. 1. 'Thisbeing accomplished, the several steps are repeated to draw a second wire article, and so on.

When the dies pinch the .wire when clamped: tightuponit at the/initial operation otbiting uponthe wire, there is a tendency to produce a small fin,'whi ch, on'account of the pinching action, is quite hrittleand may be easily broken off. To insure this breaking away of the fins to leave-a clean article, I provide the fin scrapers 39 at the rear end of each of the dies (Figs. 4 and5), by which the fins are-scraped oad the wire,-.this action, however, only taking place during the drawing operation. a

I have described my'invention in respect -to the general process and theimeans employed for drawing wires with different diameters in'the direction of theilength, and do not wish to be in anywise limited-asto the relative lengths ofthe parts of different diameters, as these lengths mayhe'anything desired, this being merely-duetodesignof theimachine-to give it more orless travel. of the-.wire clamp .15 --.with agiven-operation of the dies. While I have also shown my improvements with the vertically movable. die

.or draw frame and prefer to use such-coneither by hand or by automatic devices. I

have further shown the details of the cams and operative parts in the form'which I have. designed for special application ofrny was invention in theproduQtionof drawn :wire articles, more especially intended for the manufacture .of :hair pins, but 'I do not, confine or restrict myself in any mannerito the details here shown, as these maybecmodified invarious ways without departing fromthe spirit of the invention.

Having now described my inventiomwhat :Ielaim as new and desireito secure Joy Lethers-Patent, is

1. The hereindeseribed method of wiredrawing wire strands, which consias in moving a wire in the direction of itslength during saidoperation and wile-drawing a definite length or the wire to reduce its diameter, and then during the continued movement of the .Wi-rewire-drawing: a part only. of the total length of! the portion-of rednced diameter: to produce agreatlyreduced diameterconnected with the wire portions of normal diameter by the reduced portions of intermediate diameter, .the .two wiredrawing operations taking place alternately and with one continuous movement ofthe 'wire.

2. The .her'eindescribed method of wire drawing wire strands, which consists of -moving a wire strand and during said movementsubjecting the. wire-strand to two successive and superimposed wire-drawingopenations, thelfirst of which extends over a portion of the strand intermediate of its ends, and the other ofo which is done, on that portion onlyof' the length of the strand which was subjected to the first wire-draw ,ing operation.

'3. The =hereindesoribed method of -.wiredrawing wire strands, which consists of moving a wire strand and during said move ment subjecting-the-wi-restrand to two successive and six erimposed wire-drawing cp- .erations,ztherst of which extendsover :a portion of the moving strand intermediate of its ends, andtheother of which extends for that portion only of the length 'ofthe' strand which was subjected to the? first wirearranged in alin'ement. so that the wire strand passes successively through said dies, a wiredrawing clamp 01'- -chuck.to pull the wire through the dies, =means for moving the clamp or chuck, and means fonputtingsaid dies into and outset-operation alternately during the movement offthe clamp or-chuek,

whereby one die operates upon a less mass of the wire strand than the other die.

5. In av machine for producing a double superimposed wire-drawing of a wire strand, the combination of two wire-drawing dies each consisting of two parts in adjustable relation said dies arranged in alinement so that the wire strand passes successively through said dies, a wire-drawing clamp or chuck to pull the wire through the dies,

means for moving the clamp or chuck, and

means consisting of right-hand and lefthand adjusting screws for the respective dies and means for simultaneously operating the screws for putting said dies into and out or operation alternately during the movement of the clamp or chuck, whereby one die operates upon a less mass of the wire strand than the other die.

6. In a wire-drawing machine, the combination of two sets of dies arranged in alinement and respectively providing drawing apertures of diiferent sizes, means for drawing a wire strand simultaneously through the two sets of dies, and means for alternately putting the two sets of dies into and out of operative adjustment and in which one-set of the dies is in wire-drawing action a. longer period of time'than the other set of dies, said dies reducing a portion only of the length of the strand.

7. In a wire-drawing machine, the combination of two sets of dies arranged in alincment and respectively providing drawing apertures of different sizes, means for drawing a wire strand simultaneously through the two sets of dies, means for alternately putting the two sets of dies into and out of operative adjustment and in which one set of the dies is in wire-drawing action a longer period of time than the other set of dies, said dies reducing a portion only of the length of the strand, and means for cutting oif the wire-drawn strand at places in its nomal portions.

8. In a wire-drawingmachine, the combination of two sets of dies provided with drawing apertures of different sizes, means for drawing av wire strand through the two sets of dies whereby they may successive 3 act upon the same portions of the strand, means for simultaneously closing one set of the dies and opening the other set and vice versa, and connecting means for timing the means for drawing the wire strand through the dies and means for closing and opening the dies to cause the two sets of dies to respectively wire-draw different masses of the metal of the wire strand, whereby one set of dies reduces only a portion of the length of the strand which was reduced by the other set of dies.

9. In a wire-drawing machine, the combination of two sets of dies provided with drawing apertures of different sizes, means for drawing a wire strand through the two sets of dies whereby they may successively act upon the same portions of the strand, means for simultaneously closing one set of the dies and opening the other set and vice versa, connecting means for timing the means for drawing the wire strand through the dies and means for closing and opening the dies to cause the two sets of dies to respectively wire-draw diiierent masses of the metal of the wire strand, whereby one set of dies reduces only a portion of the length of the strand which was reduced by the other set of dies, and means for cutting off the strand into lengths at normal or unreduced portions.

10. In a wire-drawing machine, the combination of two sets of dies provided with drawing apertures of different sizes, means for drawing a wire strand through the two sets of dies whereby they may successively act upon the same portions of the strand, means for simultaneously closing one set of the dies and opening the other set and vice versa, connecting means for timing the means for drawing the wire strand through the dies and means for closing and opening the dies to cause the two sets of-dies to respectively wire-draw dilierent masses of the Y unto set may hand.

LOUIS C. BELZ. I

Witnesses R. M. KELLY, E. W. Smrrn. 

